St. Tammany Parish School Superintendent Gayle Sloan presented a plan to standardize compensation for bus drivers on field trips at the committee as a whole business affairs and administrative meeting Tuesday.

Sloan said in the past, individual principals worked with bus drivers to set their price for driving on a field trip.

This caused a great deal of confusion and contention with compensation for the trips varying greatly, depending upon the principals and drivers. A committee was appointed to study the situation and come up with a suitable solution. Bus operators, parents, principals and staff members, including Director of Transportation Ronald Despenza, sat on the committee.

According to the plan, there would be a minimum compensation for field trips of $100 for the operator, regardless of distance traveled or time involved; or, they will be paid the round mileage at $1.95 per mile, as determined on Map Quest, plus the time spent at $20 per hour.

The owner/operators will receive the greater of these two amounts.

In addition, individual schools will be responsible for paying the parking fees, an additional $10 for each extra stop will be paid to the bus driver and the per hour fee shall be rounded up to the nearest one-quarter hour.

Sloan said the hourly rate will begin at the time assigned by the school for the bus to arrive for student pick up and will end when the last student departs the bus at the school at the end of the field trip.

The formula will be used for educational trips during normal school hours. In addition, the schools must pay 25 percent of the field trip payment for the employer’s contribution to FICA, worker’s compensation and retirement. This would be an additional 25 percent on top of the actual fee paid to the bus driver.

The formula does not preclude extra compensation for extenuating circumstances during the field trip,

Sloan will set the field trip compensation and any adjustments or revisions as needed.

For example, if the price of fuel rises or lowers, the cost per mile may be adjusted accordingly.

The proposal was approved by a vote of 8-0 with one abstention.

In other business, a 1,290-square-foot servitude bordering the new elementary school to be built in Mandeville was approved for purchase by a vote of 9-0 at a cost of $15,462.50. The area will be used for a bus loop at the new school.

Lead construction supervisor Cameron Tipton made the following proposals for bid acceptances, all of which passed unanimously:

• Creekside Junior High School, 10-classroom addition was awarded to Brunt Construction of Independence with a bid of $1.777 million. Budget for the project was $3.2 million.

• Robert C. Brooks Education Complex bid was awarded to Frank A. Anzalone General Contractors, Inc. of Independence with a bid of $9.84 million. This is a fully funded FEMA project that was estimated at $10.85 million.

• Salmen High School weight room and concession building was awarded to Trison Constructors, LLC of Metairie with a bid of $1.485 million.

This is also a FEMA-funded project and includes a raised elevation of the building to FEMA standards of an 11-foot elevation, 5 feet above the existing ground level.

Tipton also recommended the roof remodeling project at Mandeville Junior High School be accepted as substantially complete. The committee voted unanimously to accept the project.

All monthly reports were also accepted as written, including construction, maintenance and custodial, risk management, transportation and the monthly purchasing reports.

The School Board committee as a Whole meeting scheduled for Oct. 16 will not take place.

Instead, the meeting for final consideration of Fontainebleau High School’s redistricting plan from the existing attendance boundaries to form the attendance boundaries of the yet unnamed new high school on Louisiana Highway 1088 will take place at the C. J. Schoen Administrative Complex. The public is once again invited to attend.